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(1) French tenor
Lucien Muratore (1878-1954) had designs on being an actor. However, on
the advice of Emma Calvé, his talents were redirected toward opera. In 1902
he made his operatic debut opposite Calvé in the world premiere of Reynaldo
Hahn's La Carmélite at the Opéra-Comique. His career quickly grew,
and soon he mastered most of the principal tenor roles. Ultimately, however,
his acting would be more frequently commended than his somewhat inconsistent
voice. One friend noted, after hearing a recording of his voice, "He sounds
like a Munchkin." Muratore was married for a time to the Italian soprano,
Lina Cavalieri.
(2)
Lucien Muratore.
(3) French baritone Victor Maurel (17 Jun 1848 - 22 Oct 1923).
Debut Paris (1868) as De Nevers (Huguenots). Sang in St. Petersburg,
Cairo and Venice. World premiere Il Guarany (1870) at La Scala. Also
created Iago (Otello: 1887) and the title role in Verdi's Falstaff
(1893). Covent Garden (first London Telramund, Wolfram, and Dutchman). NY
Academy of Music, Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera. Was not an exceptional singer
but sang with emotion and exhibited a talent in acting. Also designed opera
sets. Taught singing in NY.
(4)
Belgian mezzo-soprano Jeanne Maubourg (1875 [possibly 1873] - 12 May
1953). She made her stage debut (1895) at the Théâtre des Galeries in Brussels
in the opera Ali Baba. She joined the Monnaie in 1897 where she appeared
in Manon, Les Charmeurs, La Fille du régiment, La Domino Noir, Les Deux
Billets, Les Dragons de Villars, Lakmé, Mireille, Faust, La Bohème, Roméo
et Juliette, Guillaume Tell and the French version of Die Meistersinger (Maîtres
Chanteurs), and the first Monnaie Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel in
1898. She remained at the Monnaie until 1907. In 1909 she came to the
Metropolitan Opera and found a home for five seasons in spite of being limited
to minor roles in over 200 performances. Sang in the American premiere (1912) of
Le Donne Curiose under Toscanini. Chicago Opera (1915, 1916).
(5) Belgian soprano Mariette Mazarin (1874-1953) as Carmen. A
remarkable singer and actress, she created a sensation when she introduced a
deranged Elektra to New York audiences in 1910. To prepare for Elektra she
studied one particular institutionalized woman at a lunatic asylum to master the
characterization. By far the biggest success of her career, critics found the
portrayal without parallel. One year later she made her Paris Opéra debut (13
Sep 1911) as Elisabeth in Tannhäuser.
(6) Italian soprano Ester Mazzoleni (1882-1981) as Norma. She
made her debut (1906) at the Teatro Costanzi (Rome) as Leonora in Il
Trovatore. She was signed by Toscanini in 1907 for a season at La Scala and
eventually had a long and successful partnership with that house. She sang Aida
in the first Verona Arena Festival in 1913. She married and subsequently retired
in 1926. Her inherited fortune in Yugoslavian real estate was confiscated by the
Communists during World War II.
(7) Irish tenor John McCormack (1884-1945) was inspired to
sing after witnessing a performance of La Bohème at Covent Garden with
Caruso. Under the name Giovanni Foli, he made his opera debut (1906) in the
title role of L'amico Fritz.
(8)
Italian
mezzo-soprano/soprano Medea Mei-Figner
(1858-1952) made her debut in Sinaluga,
Italy as Azucena in Il Trovatore. She had a successful career in Europe
and South America. During her appearances in Milan she met her future husband,
Russian tenor Nicolai Figner (1856-1919). They both joined the Imperial Opera in
St. Petersburg, where they had highly regarded careers. Tchaikovsky, a friend of
the Figners, wrote part of his opera The Queen of Spades at their
residence. The couple appeared in the 1890 world premiere of that work, Medea as
Lisa and Nicolai as Hermann. At the Imperial Opera she and her husband also
created roles in Iolanthe (1892), and Napravnik's Doubrovsky
(1895) and Francesca da Rimini (1902). The Figners were divorced in 1904;
and after the Revolution (1919) she left Russia and lived permanently in Paris.
(9) Suzanne
Mérentie: French mezzo-soprano. During the outbreak of WW I she appeared
at the Théâtre Royal Francais d'Anvers.
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(10) German
soprano Ottilie Metzger-Lattermann (1878-1943) whose life ended
tragically in the Auschwitz concentration camp, was an important German
singer, graduating from early Rhine-maiden roles into the major Wagnerian
parts.
(11) Kentucky born
Riccardo Martin (1874 - 1952) as Faust, the role in which he made his
operatic debut (1904) in the Théâtre de la Renaissance at Nantes, France. His
first American appearances were at the French Opera House in New Orleans
during the 1906-07 season. Shortly thereafter he made his Metropolitan Opera
debut (20 Nov 1907) as Faust in Mefistofele, which also featured the
debut of Feodor Chaliapin. Martin appeared in three world premieres of
American works at the Metropolitan: Converse's Pipe of Desire (18 Mar
1909), Parker's Mona (14 Mar 1912), and Damrosch's Cyrano (27
Feb 1913). Collectively, those works were only mounted thirteen times at that
house. A Dupont image.
(12) Maxim
Mikhailov (25 Aug 1893 - 30 Mar 1971): Russian bass. Studied in Kazan.
Concert tours during the 1920s. Debut (1932) as Zaretsky in Onegin. His
roles included Gremin, Chub, Pimen, Khonchak, and Varlaam.
(13) Austrian
soprano Anna von Mildenburg (1872-1947) made her debut (1897) in
Hamburg. In that same year she made her first of many appearances at the
Bayreuth Festivals. Her first contract (1897) with the Vienna Court Opera
stipulated that her salary be 14,000 guilders per year. With that she was
required to fulfill ten performances per month with no leave of absence other
than theater vacations and a summer break. Although von Mildenburg was married
to the poet and playwright Hermann Bahr, she was romantically linked to the
married conductor Gustav Mahler with whom she often worked and who was largely
responsible for building her career.
(14) Australian
coloratura soprano Lalla Miranda (1874-1944) as Marguerite in Faust.
She sang principally in France, Belgium, and Great Britain. She appeared at
the Manhattan Opera where she opened the 1910 season as Lucia, a role for
which she was noted, along with Gilda (Rigoletto), Olympia (Les
Contes d'Hoffmann), and Lakmé. Photo by Henri Manuel, circa 1900.
(15) José
Mojica: Mexican tenor (14 Apr 1896 - ?) seen here as Don José in Carmen:
Debut (1919) at the Chicago Opera. Started out in small roles. Sang in the
world premiere (1921) of The Love of Three Oranges. Often was partnered
with Mary Garden. Remained at Chicago Opera until 1930. Never sang opera
abroad. After 1930 he was seen in American and Spanish films. He came back to
the Chicago Opera in 1940. When his mother died in 1943 he made a deathbed
promise to join the priesthood. He entered a religious order and took his
vows. He joined a mission in Peru. He made concert appearances after that for
the benefit of his religious order. Later in life he went completely deaf.
(16) Fanny
Moody (23 Nov 1866 - 21 Jul 1945): English soprano. Debut Liverpool
(1887)as Arline in Bohemian Girl. Leading soprano with the Carl Rosa
Company. She married Charles Manners in 1890 and they formed the Moody-Manners
Company. She was the frst Tatyana in England (1892). She created the title
role in Pizzi's Rosalba (1902) and Militza in McAlpin's The Cross
and the Crescent (1903).
(17)
Tennessee-born soprano Grace Moore (1901-1947) sang in concerts,
musicals, and night clubs before making her opera debut (1928) at the
Metropolitan Opera as Mimi. Although there were many who questioned her skills
as an opera singer she nevertheless appeared for sixteen seasons at the
Metropolitan with a fair number of performances as Tosca, Mimi, Louise, and
Manon. No one questioned her ability to draw in audiences. Her charm and
beauty led to a number of successful movies including One Night of Love.
She died at the height of her career in an airplane crash.
(18) German
soprano Berta Morena (1878-1952). As the story goes, the famous
painter, von Lenbach, who was attracted to Morena's Rubensesque figure,
helped launch her career. She made her debut (1898) as Agathe in Der
Freischütz. She was regarded as a "fascinating" actress and an
"intelligent" singer. She spent the majority of her career at the Munich
Opera. She did appear at Covent Garden during the German Opera Season in 1914.
(19) Alexandr
Mosin: Russian tenor. (20)
Soprano Evgeniya Mravina (1864-1914) studied with Pryanishnikov in
Russia, Artôt in Berlin, and Mathilde Marchesi in Paris. She made her debut
(1885) at Vittorio Veneto as Gilda (Rigoletto). This intelligent and
highly regarded singer was a mainstay at the Mariinsky Theatre from 1886 to
1897. She created the roles of Oxana in Rimsky-Korsakov's Christmas Eve
and Fornarina in Arensky's Rafael.
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